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Cardiff – Our city, your home

Deciding where to study isn’t just about choosing the most appropriate course. You also need to choose where you want to live or be based for the next few years of your life.

This is our city – the capital of Wales. Full of culture, adventure and sport. Nightlife, shopping, a thriving international food scene, green spaces, waterways and more – all wrapped up in a compact and easy to navigate space.

Whether you’re local to the city, or considering studying with us from further afield, we’re confident that Cardiff is the place you’ll want to call home.

Cardiff is ranked as the most affordable student city in the UK.

NatWest Student Living Index 2022

A city for students

With a thriving student population, the traditional student areas of Cardiff are found in the suburbs of Roath and Cathays, where there are plenty of cafés, pubs, bars and shops to cater for your every need.

In the city centre, traditional pubs, cocktail and craft beer bars sit alongside the larger nightclubs which all host weekly student themed nights, as well unique locations like The DEPOT – an original and experience led space established by Cardiff Met Marketing graduate Nick Saunders – offering a mecca for street food, drink, live events and the infamous BINGO LINGO!

When it comes to food, Cardiff can offer everything from the big-name chains to a thriving and award-winning independent food scene with regular pop-up events and festivals in unique locations around the city.

For live music lovers, Cardiff is home to a variety of smaller independent venues like Clwb Ifor Bach and the Tramshed, with the Cardiff International Arena, the Principality Stadium and even Cardiff Castle playing host to big named bands and artists.

St David’s Hall in the city centre and The Glee Club in Cardiff Bay are great venues for live comedy, and if film is your thing, Cardiff is home to four multiplex movie theatres, and a handful of pop-up cinemas which hold screenings in unlikely venues like Cardiff Castle and even rooftops and basements around the city.

For drama and musical fans, the iconic Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay is a world-famous theatre and arts venue, and at Chapter Arts Centre in Canton you’ll find a cinema, contemporary theatre, bar and café all rolled in to one.

A city for sport

Cardiff has an incredible sporting heritage. You could spend your weekends here watching football at the Cardiff City stadium, international cricket at Sophia Gardens, ice hockey with the Cardiff Devils in Cardiff Bay and of course, international rugby at the Principality Stadium. If you’re into mass participation or non-competitive sporting events, the Cardiff 10k and Cardiff Half Marathon run every year, with a full marathon just a stone’s throw away in Newport.

Scan to watch our Student Life in Cardiff video

Adventure – In the city and beyond For those seeking adventure within the city, there are plenty of options indoors, including climbing, whitewater rafting, ice-skating or swimming in a state-of-the-art Olympic sized pool.

Cardiff also has to be one of the UK’s best-placed cities for easy access to the great outdoors. You can enjoy surfing, coasteering or simply sunbathing at world-class beaches, or head to the Brecon Beacons National Park for biking, hiking or horse riding – all within an hour’s drive from the city centre.

Travelling to and around Cardiff

As the capital city of Wales, Cardiff is well connected and easy to get to, no matter where you’re coming from.

Bangor 4hrs 20 mins

Birmingham

2 hrs 30 mins

Bournemouth 3 hrs

Bristol 50 mins

Brighton

3 hrs 30 mins

Carmarthen 1hr 20 mins

Exeter

2 hrs 30 mins

How to Find Us

CYNCOED CAMPUS

Postcode for GPS: CF23 6XD

From the A48 Eastern Avenue, travel via Llanedeyrn Road to Cyncoed Road.

LLANDAFF CAMPUS

Postcode for GPS: CF5 2YB

The campus is located on Western Avenue (A48).

By car

The M4 motorway lies within easy reach of the city centre giving easy access to London and the South-East or, via the M5 to the Midlands, the South-West and the North.

By train

Rail travel is just as easy. A good rail network links Cardiff to all parts of Wales. There are fast, daily services to other major cities and London is only two hours away by Inter-City.

The main station for Inter-City services is Cardiff Central in the city centre. It is approximately 2.5 miles from the campuses at Llandaff and Cyncoed.

More detailed directions can be found at: www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/findus

Getting around

Please note: None of our campuses offer car-parking facilities for resident students, so the easiest way to travel around Cardiff is by foot, bicycle (there are lockable cycling facilities on all campuses), or by using the Met Rider Service.

OVO Bike Scheme

Each year we secure FREE OVO bike memberships for you to explore the city or travel to campus and In 2022 we secured 5000 free memberships. Anytime you use an OVO bike, your first 30 minutes are FREE as many times a day as you like all year. This is a great and environmentally friendly way to explore the city and travel to lectures.

We have OVO bike stations on both our Llandaff and Cyncoed campuses.

Further information: www.nextbike.co.uk

Cardiff Met Rider

In partnership with Cardiff Bus and Traveline Cymru, we are able to offer you some fantastic bus travel offers for getting around the city of Cardiff. It is available to all students, but if you are aged 16-21 you can apply for the Welsh Government’s My Travel Pass to get up to 30% discount on all bus travel throughout Wales up until your 22nd birthday! It's quick and easy to apply, just visit the My Travel Pass website. You need to have a resident address in Wales, but the good news is that your new halls or landlord address also counts!

There are so many options, including daily, weekly, termly and annual passes, that’s its really up to you to pick the option that matches your needs. All MetRider tickets also include FREE and UNLIMITED travel across the entire Cardiff Bus fleet.

Our campuses and facilities